Reason number 5,000,000,000 to wish you'd gone to MIT... There's a great article in MIT News Magazine about the MIT Science Fiction Society, with its incredibly awesome library. Which started with a wooden crate dragged between dorm rooms in 1949 and is now a massive storehouse of awesome. »10/22/14 4:00pm 10/22/14 4:00pm

A small group of elite science journals get the lion's share of citations and media attention, but that dominance is erodingas it becomes easier for scientists to find obscure but relevant papers. In 1995, only 27% of citations pointed to articles published in non-elite journals. That portion grew to 47% by 2013. »10/16/14 7:30am 10/16/14 7:30am

Everybody knows Kim Kardashian is "famous for being famous." But one researcher worries that some in the scientific community are likewise "renowned for being renowned." How could you tell if a scientist has an overblown public profile? Meet the Kardashian Index.»7/30/14 11:00am 7/30/14 11:00am

If you've ever been at a science fiction or fantasy convention late at night, you've heard people singing ballads based on their favorite stories and characters. That's the magic of filking, and at last a university library will be collecting materials related to this time-honored custom. »1/09/14 7:00pm 1/09/14 7:00pm

"Summing up years of work in one sentence." That's the tagline for Lol My Thesis, where PhD candidates (Edit: and undergrads) make fun of their own theses by reducing them to just a sentence or two. »12/28/13 4:00pm 12/28/13 4:00pm

In a few short years, China has metamorphosed from a middling contributor to scientific knowledge into one of the most prolific research entities on the planet. But the country's meteoric ascent to scientific prominence – widely attributed to a flawed incentive system – has given unintentional rise to a lucrative… »9/30/13 12:24pm 9/30/13 12:24pm

Want to find life on other planets but don't know where to begin? Starting in January, the University of Edinburgh will be offering a course on the search for extraterrestrial life. Best of all? You can take the course online for free. »7/22/12 10:30am 7/22/12 10:30am

University exams are never anyone's idea of a rollicking time, particularly when your professor rambles on besotted for 23 hours, denies you sustenance and bathroom breaks, and covers topics not on the syllabus, such as her wardrobe and outside business interests. »7/05/12 6:25am 7/05/12 6:25am

Very few universities have had realistic "action figures" made of their faculties and staff. One exception is the University of the Ozarks in Arkansas, where Dr. Jesse Weiss (Associate Professor of Sociology and Environmental Studies) has produced a collection of them. »7/04/11 6:30am 7/04/11 6:30am

Want to spend a few semesters analyzing the Marxist subtext of Scream Blacula Scream? This fall, University of Hertfordshire in England will offer an MA in Vampire Literature. They're also holding a conference next weekend: "Open Graves, Open Minds." »4/06/10 4:43pm 4/06/10 4:43pm

When did robots become more popular than cold fusion? Will nano out pace micro as academia's prefix of choice? PHD Comics charts out the changing popularity of various buzzwords in academic papers over the years. »11/18/09 3:00pm 11/18/09 3:00pm

Do you spend hours analyzing the moral philosophy of Watchmen, the multicultural occultism of Promethea, or what Lost Girls says about storytelling and human sexuality? Consider submitting a paper to an upcoming academic conference on the work of Alan Moore. »10/12/09 6:30am 10/12/09 6:30am

Athletes who take performance-enhancing drugs are subject to drug testing, public disgrace, and an asterisk in the record books — but what about students who do the same? One psychologist foresees a future where students get tested for cognition-enhancing drugs. »10/01/09 8:30am 10/01/09 8:30am

The University of California at Riverside has always had a vast, impressive collection of science fiction books and related ephemera in its library. This year the university is solidifying its reputation as the school to go to for serious scholarship related to scifi. They're holding a series of distinguished lectures… »2/02/09 4:55pm 2/02/09 4:55pm